Urumqi mayor pledges persistent crackdown on separatism

URUMQI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has promised a persistent crackdown on the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism to maintain social stability.

"Urumqi faces an arduous fight against separatism now and for years to come, after last year's riots," said mayor Jerla Isamudinhe in the city government's report to a session of the municipal People's Congress Thursday.

Riots that seized downtown Urumqi streets on July 5 last year left 197 people dead and 1,600 injured.

"We should be vigilant and high-handed in our fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism," he said. "We should stop all sabotage activities and attempts beforehand."

The mayor said Urumqi would step up efforts to maintain social stability, by keeping a closer eye on migrants' communities, ex-convicts and other sensitive areas and suspicious people.

The government would continue to improve its emergency response capacity and had built up a stronger team of patrolmen at district/county and community levels, he said.

"We'll continue to promote unity among different ethnic groups across the city, and help build up trust and respect among different walks of life," said the mayor. "In particular, we'll step up with ethnic unity education at schools."

Meanwhile, the government would closely follow the Internet content and clarify false information in time to prevent rumors from being spread among the people, he added.